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4 Weeks to an Organized Home: Week 4 – Conquer Those Cabinets!

Cabinets are an ongoing battle for most of us, and I’m going to risk alienation on an organizing blog by saying: maybe that’s not such a bad thing. So go ahead and prepare yourself for a yearly visit into the depths of your kitchen and bathroom cabinets. It’s a good exercise anyway because you can pull older canned goods forward so they don’t expire, and the same goes for medicines and toiletries in the bathroom. Plus you can dust and check for signs of mildew or pests while you are in there.

So grab a damp cloth, a recycle bin, and join me in this last step on our journey to an organized home.

Here’s what works in cabinets:

• Divide and Conquer – For pots and pans, utilize wire shelves inside the cabinet to divide up the vertical space. Small baskets can slide alongside to hold lids. In the pantry, the same rule applies: use shelves to raise cans and food staples to make two levels out of one, otherwise you are simply wasting space. Keep canned-goods sectioned by food type (beans, veggies, soups, and fruits for baking) to streamline the cooking process.
• Under Sink Baskets – In both the bathroom and kitchen, sliding baskets under the sink make it a cinch to access cleaning supplies – look for two-tiered designs to maximize that (yep, you guessed it), vertical space.
• Labeling – Labeling is great in the pantry for food, that way you can pass off the grocery-putting-away chore to the kids. It also works well in shared bathrooms so that there are no fights over what belongs to whom and where it should go.
• Step-Up Organizers – These are not so much space-savers as they are handy helpers – they simply raise the cans and bottles at the back of a cabinet for easier viewing. Lazy Susans are another method for easier-to-use pantries.
• Large Airtight Food Containers (for cereal, baking staples) – If you are someone who will take the time to empty your cereal into one of these containers, they are great space-savers and keep your foods fresh longer. If not, skip it, no harm done.
• Back of the Door – For small cabinet doors, mount wire baskets (or use over the cabinet door organizers if you don’t want to drill) to hold cleaning supplies, cans, baggies and more. Generally this only works on the under-sink cabinets as there is plenty of room. For full-size pantry doors, I have seen people use over the door shoe pocket organizers for the most fascinating things…anything from spice packets to food coloring seems to go.
• Drawer Dividers – Inexpensive and forever-lasting, drawer dividers are a must have in almost any drawer of the home, from the kitchen to the bathroom and even the laundry room.See? Organizing isn’t so bad if you break it down into manageable steps and collect the right tools! How was this experience for you? We’d love to hear!